About JD's Strip Tees

JD, the founder of JD's Strip Tees, has a background in photography that goes back to when he was in middle school. JD learned the process of black and white photography and fell in love with it. Photography is both art and science. The art of selecting and framing the subject for a photograph, and the science of the darkroom development of that photograph.

JD's photgraphy is available at http://jdsmithphotography.com.

Some time ago, during COVID, JD got into creating memes. Funny observations, political observations. As you know, that is what most tee shirt designs are. So naturally the memes idea evolved to "how would that look on a tshirt?"

See the Memes page for amusement...

What really got JD into the tee shirt business was a shirt that he had back in college. Recently, in the 20s, he searched for the shirt all throughout the ends of the Internet, but it could not be found. So JD created a similar design and sent it off to an online tshirt printing company, but of course they would not print it because it has a University logo. So JD then decided that he would learn how to print tee shirts. And the rest is history. And that shirt design can't be sold for the same licensing reason the online shirt printing company wouldn't print it. Oh well.

So now, back to photography. The tee shirt creation process is the same as photography:

• Frame the subject - create a design
• Develop the negative - print the transparency and burn the screen stensil
• Expose the print - press the ink through the screen
• Display the photograph - a photo goes into a gallery, collection, website, periodical, and many other places. A tee shirt design is displayed on a gallery of living, moving, expressing, human beings.

An unofficial part of the photographic process is that there is always awesome music playing in the darkroom whenever negatives are being developed and prints are being exposed.

Same for the screen printing process.

Here at JD's we use environmentaly friendly water-based chemicals for the screen printing process. Water-based printed tshirts have many benefits:

• Eco-Friendly - unlike the popular Plastisol ink, which is made of plastic PVC resin, which can't be good for the environment. Water-based is completely without the harmful PVC.
• Soft hand - meaning that the water-based ink actually bonds to the garment fiber, rather than sitting on top of it like the Plastisol ink does. Making the finished printed product "soft."
• Sharper details - because the water-based ink actually dyes the garment, rather than sitting on top of it, much finer details are possible than the Plastisol ink.
• Longer lasting - also because the water-based ink dyes the fabric, the details will last longer than Plastisol. Plastisol sits on top of the fabric, and can crack and disintegrate over time. Sure, dyed fabric does fade as well, but it takes much longer to.

Here at JD's we use water-based emulsion (for the screen stensil) and water-based ink for the print.

Currently we do simple single color designs, printed with water-based ink. We will never use Plastisol, PVC-based, environmentally damaging, ink.

We provide high quality finished products. Of our own, and your custom commissioned, designs.

Multi-colored designs are outsourced as needed.

Individuals, groups, organizations, corporations.

We provide tee shirts at wholesale prices to retailers.

JD's is located at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains on the Front Range of Colorado. Though we would prefer to be located in a beautiful mountain valley (perhaps the Arkansas River Valley, which is the inspiration for the Don't Delay My Day design), with 14ers majestically above, we are currently in the thriving metropolis of the Denver metro area. Pikes Peak is to our south, Mount Evans directly to our west, and Longs Peak to the northwest. New Mexico is to the south, and Wyoming is to the north. The Rocky Mountains and all of the outdoor activities that they provide is the driving inspiration of our designs. One of JD's favorite songs is "Rocky Mountain Way" by Joe Walsh. Joe Walsh wrote that song in the 70's while living here along the Front Range. JD is inspired by the same views and experiences for his unique designs.